The Three Little Royals
by wordsurfer
Summary: Three little squabbling princes and princesses  and their servants  leave home to seek their fortunes. They must contend with badly-built castles and ferocious dragons, and learn to get along with each other. Fusion with "The Three Little Pigs."
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This was partially inspired by Valderys' fic "Mad North-North-West," which is a Hamlet fusion, and very good. I wanted to do one of my own, and the fairy tale of the Three Little Pigs seemed like the obvious choice. Don't ask how my mind works.

I've been working on this for ages. I actually figured out the ending before writing most of the middle, and some of it still isn't finished, but I'll try to get the rest up as soon as possible.

The Three Little Royals

Once upon a time, there were two little princesses and a little prince. They lived happily together with their father, King Uther, in a castle in Camelot. As they grew up, though, they began to squabble amongst themselves. The oldest daughter, Morgause, was in love with a prince called Cenred, and wanted to rule Camelot with him by her side. The middle child, Morgana, was jealous of her older siblings, and wanted to be the future queen of Camelot. And Prince Arthur, the youngest, just wanted to hunt the fabulous creatures that lived in the woods around the castle, pine after Princess Morgana's maid, and become a great warrior.

Their quarrels got worse and worse, until one day their father called them all to his throne room. He made a proclamation to them. "My children," he said, "your arguing and bickering has made it difficult for me to defend my kingdom from the Great Dragon, Kilgharrah. Plus, it's been giving me really bad headaches. So therefore, I decree that you are banished from Camelot. You all must leave by tomorrow morning, make your own fortunes, and learn to work together. Only then can you return."

He was doing his kingly voice and fierce eyebrows, so his children did not argue. They bowed to him, and went to their chambers to tell their servants to pack.

* * *

><p>Princess Morgause's maid, the beautiful sorceress Nimueh, took the news that they had been banished surprisingly well. "Finally, we can escape from Uther's patriarchy and become the strong, powerful women that we were destined to be," she exclaimed. Morgause blinked. "Er…" she replied.<p>

Nimueh took no notice of her mistress' lack of enthusiasm. "If you'll excuse me, milady, I'll just go and tailor some of our dresses so that it will be easier to ride and fight in them."

* * *

><p>When Princess Morgana told her maid, Gwen, Gwen just sighed. "I'm surprised he didn't kick you all out sooner," she murmured under her breath. Louder, she asked her mistress, "Where will we go?"<p>

"I thought we could go to the Druid camp in the woods."

"But hasn't your father declared them to be outlaws? And besides, there's no way to find the camp without using magic. How will we do it?"

Princess Morgana waved a hand carelessly. "Don't worry, Gwen. Everything will work itself out."

* * *

><p>As soon as Prince Arthur stomped moodily into his chambers, his servant Merlin came over, concerned. "What have you done this time?" he asked.<p>

"Father has banished me and my sisters," Prince Arthur pouted. "I need you to pack up all of my clothing, armour, and weapons. And get a lot of food from the kitchens. And see if you can carry my mattress too. I'm going to find Gwen."

Merlin scowled, but knew better than to argue with the prince. He picked up a leather sack, and began dumping clothing into it, preparing for a long and arduous journey with his infuriating master.


	2. Chapter 2

Princess Morgause and Nimueh left later that evening, and rode all through the night without rest until they reached the castle of King Cenred. When he learned that the oldest princess of Camelot had come to visit, he made them welcome, and called for a great feast to be prepared immediately.

Princess Morgause was flattered by his attentions, and did not pay much heed to what her servant was doing. This suited Nimueh very well, as it gave her the chance to sneak around the castle and observe its defenses and weaknesses. She noticed with disgust that a lot of the stonework in the outer walls was old and crumbling, and that there was an enormous amount of straw scattered all over the streets near the stables. When she… when Princess Morgause became Queen, she would never permit such a fire hazard.

Nimueh returned to her mistress' chambers a few hours later in order to dress her for the banquet. She helped Princess Morgause into a beautiful, shimmering gown of dark red silk (with a slit down the side for ease of movement), slipped on her own ceremonial servant's robes, and hurried down to the kitchens to collect her pitcher of wine.

Cenred's feast was spectacular. The kitchens had roasted only the fattest pigs, with the freshest tomatoes and greens as garnish on the silver plates. Garlands of flowers were draped over all available surfaces, and tapestries covered every inch of the walls. King Cenred himself was splendid in his leather jacket, a fact that Princess Morgause seemed very aware of, since she kept glancing at him and rearranging her dress so as to show off her legs through the slit in the side. Nimueh found it revolting, and spent most of the evening fighting a desire to pour the contents of her pitcher all over the two of them.

The King was in the middle of a long and frankly boring speech about how wonderful it was to have such a distinguished guest (with frequent digressions to comment on Princess Morgause's beauty and grace) when, suddenly, alarm bells rang out. A knight ran into the room, bowed quickly to King Cenred, and announced loudly enough for everyone to hear that the Great Dragon was attacking.

The room erupted into chaos. Panicked courtiers ran around screaming, and guards drew their swords as the King barked orders at them to keep everyone safe.

"Get out of here!" Cenred commanded Morgause, but the princess refused.

"I'm not leaving without you," she insisted, seizing his hand.

Nimueh rolled her eyes, and grabbed Princess Morgause by the sleeve. Ignoring her mistress' spluttering protests, she dragged Morgause out of the castle and into the forest. The maid smiled privately to herself, eternally grateful that she'd had the foresight to make their clothing easy to run in.

They sprinted until they could run no further and then finally stopped, gasping, and turned around to watch the castle burn. "Do you think anyone else made it out?" Morgause asked, anxiously.

Nimueh shook her head. "I'm sorry, milady. We were lucky. I doubt anyone else was."

"So there's no chance that King Cenred could have survived?"

"No," Nimueh said firmly. "There isn't."

Princess Morgause slumped, and began to sob. Nimueh just stood and watched, impatient, until eventually Morgause drew in a few ugly gasping breaths and halted her tears. "What now?" the distraught princess asked.

"Now, we fill the power vacuum left by Cenred's death by seizing his kingdom for ourselves. In time, we capture Camelot, and unite all the lands under our banner of female empowerment."

Princess Morgause wrinkled her nose. "Erm…" she said.

"Or we could join your sister at the Druid camp," Nimueh offered.

"How do you know where it is?" her mistress asked, staring at Nimueh suspiciously.

"I snuck a magical tracking device into one of Princess Morgana's bags before she left," Nimueh admitted.

"Why?"

The servant shrugged evasively. "I thought it might be useful to know where she was at all times, just in case she decided that she didn't like us gaining power for ourselves and tried to raise an army to take the kingdom for herself.."

"…okay," Princess Morgause said. "Let's go find Morgana."


	3. Chapter 3

Princess Morgana, too, was eager to leave Camelot, so she and Gwen left as soon as the maid had ensured that there were enough brightly-coloured gowns and swords packed. They rode fast, Gwen glancing back over her shoulder every few minutes.

"Are you certain that King Uther is not angry enough at you to change his mind and have you killed instead?" Gwen questioned worriedly.

"Don't worry, Gwen. He wouldn't want to kill me even if he knew I could see the future in my dreams, and set things on fire with my mind when I'm upset." Morgana stopped talking abruptly, and her face got very red. Gwen was confused. Clearly Morgana wasn't actually capable of those things.

The companions travelled for many tiring hours, facing challenges such as a cyclone of serkets (which retreated after a flock of gigantic birds showed up out of nowhere), a pack of bandits (which retreated after the serkets showed up again), and flies incessantly buzzing in their faces (which remained the entire time, much to Morgana's frustration), before finally stopping in a patch of forest. To Gwen, it looked no different from the other patches of forest that they had past through. However, Morgana cocked her head to one side and frowned as though she was concentrating on something, and sure enough, after a few minutes of scanning the woods impatiently, a boy came running through the trees.

As he greeted them enthusiastically, Gwen realized that he was the child that she had helped her friends sneak out of Camelot. So they had found the Druids after all, it seemed. An older man soon followed the boy, moving with a slow dignified grace, and introduced himself as Tiernan, the leader of the Druid camp.

"Mordred told us that you were coming," he said, putting a fatherly hand on the boy's head.

Morgana smiled at Mordred, then inclined her head to Tiernan. "My father has banished me and my siblings from his court. I chose to come here because there is still much that I must learn from you, so if you are willing, I would like to stay with my servant." Gwen was puzzled. What could Morgana learn from the Druids apart from magic?

Tiernan actually seemed pleased at Princess Morgana's words, though. "By all means," he replied, and waved the boy forward. "Mordred will show you to the camp, and provide you with a tent," he said graciously. Morgana gave a slight bow in thanks, and beckoned to Gwen to follow.

The "tents," it turned out, were nothing more than cloths draped over branches and strings. The whole camp, in fact, was really one in name only- although cooking fires were scattered all over, and chickens and goats roamed free among the many totems planted in the ground, it was clear that the inhabitants could leave at a moment's notice. And that they would always fear that they would have to. But there were colorful ribbons overhead, and happy children running about, and Morgana was smiling like she never did in Camelot, so Gwen decided that she liked it.

After her mistress disappeared into the trees with Mordred and a man called Aglain, the servant busied herself tidying up the tent that they had been assigned. By the time that she had laid down a rug and arranged the tent of the cloth so as to better keep out rain, the shadows had grown long, and Druids were all gathering by the fires, chattering and laughing as they roasted meat and vegetables. Morgana and her companions returned and joined their merriment. The princess even helped with the cooking, much to Gwen's everlasting shock.

A bird whistled in a nearby tree, and Gwen smiled. This place was truly wonderful. Her grin faded, though, when she saw the look of concern on Tiernan's face. Glancing around, she noticed that all of the Druids were tense, listening to something that she could not hear.

"What's wrong?" Morgana asked, noticing the tension as well.

"Strangers approach our camp," Tiernan warned.

Gwen's breath caught in her throat as she tiptoed over to Princess Morgana and whispered, "I knew it, King Uther has discovered our whereabouts and has come with his soldiers to kill us all!"

"Shhh!" Morgana exclaimed.

They huddled together for an interminable amount of time. Gwen, terrified, jumped at every snap of a branch. Finally, after a period of silence during which Gwen feared that her heart would burst out of her chest, another birdcall sounded. She squeaked, and Morgana threw herself on top of Gwen to prevent the woman from exclaiming hysterically exactly how certain their death was.

But Tiernan relaxed at the sound. "There are only two," he said. "Both women. I believe one is your sister, Morgause."

Morgana was taken aback at this news. "Morgause?" she echoed.

"And a servant," Tiernan confirmed.

All the same, when Princess Morgause and Nimueh appeared, looking rather bedraggled and absolutely exhausted, and an army failed to materialize behind them, Gwen couldn't help breathing a hearty sigh of relief.

"What happened?" Morgana asked her sister, concerned.

"The Great Dragon," Morgause answered. "It attacked Cenred's castle. Nimueh and I were the only ones to survive."

Morgana made sympathetic noises. "And now I suppose you want to stay here with me," she sighed.

"If you let us, sister, I will give you my sword, which you have repeatedly tried to steal from me since were children," Morgause offered.

"Very well," Princess Morgana said loftily, hiding her delight, and waved her hands towards the camp. "You had best put away your things. Gwen, go help them."

Gwen bobbed her head, and led the older princess to their tent. However, she had barely begun to arrange the Princess Morgause's dresses (and those really were clever alterations- she must remember to do that to her own and Princess Morgana's), before she heard a great roar and a blast of heat, followed by screams.

She raced outside, ignoring Morgause and Nimueh, to find the camp in disarray. Druids were scattering, desperately trying to avoid attracting the attention of the gigantic dragon just visible through the tree branches above. Gwen looked around frantically for her mistress, and gasped when she saw a figure in a brilliant red cloak lying on the ground.

"Morgana!" she exclaimed, running over, and breathing a sigh of relief when she discovered that the other woman was merely in shock.

"We must find cover," Gwen declared, dragging Morgana to her feet. Druids fled past them in all directions. "Come with me," she ordered.

The princess needed no more urging. She shook her head to clear it, then ran off, her maidservant right behind her. The two raced through the woods, dodging trees and leaping over fallen logs, until at last they stumbled to a halt.

"Gwen," Princess Morgana inquired, unable to articulate any of the questions that she truly wanted to ask. "Are we lost?"

"Probably, my lady," Gwen answered.

Before Morgana could respond, both women heard a rustling noise and froze.

"Bandits again?" whispered Gwen.

"With our luck…" Morgana agreed. Mysteriously, the princess raised her hands and began mumbling something under her breath, but stopped when she heard a voice call out, "Morgana?"

"Morgause!" Morgana exclaimed as the voice's owner stepped out from behind a tree, followed by her servant.

"It is good to see you safe, sister," Morgause said, gingerly kissing Morgana on either cheek.

"And you as well. I was worried that I would be denied my sword."

Morgause glared at her younger sister, but managed to clamp down her angry retort. "So, what do we do now?" she asked instead.

"We should find Arthur," Morgana proposed. "I'm sure he's found himself somewhere nice and comfortable to live by now."

"And how do you think we should do that?" Morgause asked.

"I can sense him. I know where he is," Morgana replied. Gwen wondered what Morgana meant.

Morgause looked dubious, until a roar from above and a fireball igniting a nearby tree cut short their deliberations. "All right. Let's find Arthur," Morgause agreed. The two princesses ran, their servants close behind them.


	4. Chapter 4

Prince Arthur wanted to get a good night's sleep in a comfortable bed, so he left the next morning. Merlin ensured that they both got a large breakfast from the kitchens before departing so as to postpone having to deal with a cranky prince for as long as possible.

They set out leisurely with no particular destination in mind, until Prince Arthur suddenly remembered an old castle belonging to the ancient kings of Camelot that he had always wanted to visit. It did not take them long to get there, a fact for which Merlin was very grateful, since there was barely enough room for him on his horse, what with all of Prince Arthur's belongings stacked up around him.

When they arrived, though, Merlin wasn't terribly impressed. The castle was indeed very old, which meant that it was also extremely dusty and full of rat droppings. Not to mention the numerous bird nests in the rafters and the spider webs on the cold stone walls, which Prince Arthur would no doubt make him get rid of. Said prince, however, ignored all of the castle's obvious flaws, and instead stood in the middle of the great hall staring in awe at a rather small circular table covered by a sheet in the corner of the room.

Merlin didn't understand what was so special about that particular piece of furniture, apart from the fact that it was likely the cleanest object around by virtue of having been protected under the cloth. So he gave Prince Arthur a good five minutes to gape at it, and then nudged the other man, who was showing no inclination to move ever again.

"What is it?" he asked.

Prince Arthur abruptly remembered that he was not alone, and coughed embarrassedly. When he answered, though, his voice was still full of wonder. "It's the table where the ancient kings used to sit. They believed in equality among all men, so they created a round table so that no man could sit at its head."

Merlin, suitably impressed, said nothing for a moment. Then, tentatively, he asked, "Does this mean that you'll help me clean up around here?"

* * *

><p>Merlin had just finished building a small campfire and heating the roasted pork he'd stolen from the kitchens for their dinner (and yes, the prat of a prince had made him scour the room all by himself while Arthur stared at that dratted table some more) when he heard a frantic knocking at the main gates. Prince Arthur heard it too, and surged to his feet, sword in hand.<p>

"Who is it?" he shouted as he sprinted toward the doors.

"It's your sisters," a voice Merlin identified as belonging to Princess Morgause responded.

Arthur stopped running and groaned. "What do you want?" he called.

"Please let us in!" Princess Morgana shouted.

"And why should I do that?"

"Because the Great Dragon is right behind us."

"Oh, come on," Prince Arthur said crossly. "You don't actually expect me to believe that. You're just jealous because I found an exciting castle and you didn't, and now you want to spoil my fun."

"No, we're telling the truth," Princess Morgause said hurriedly, adding, "and the Dragon is going to kill us all."

Prince Arthur pouted. "But this is my castle. I saw it first. Go find your own."

Merlin, who had heard the tension in the women's voices, ventured, "Maybe we should let them in, Arthur."

"Shut up, Merlin."

"They really sound like they're in trouble…"

"Shut UP, Merlin."

"Come on, Arthur!" Morgause demanded. "You're just being childish."

"Oh, I'm being childish, am I?"

"Yes, you are," confirmed Morgana.

"Well, then, since clearly you don't expect me to behave like the competent adult that I am, I'll indulge you in your fantasy and continue to keep the doors shut."

"Arthur, please let us in." This time it was Gwen pleading. The prince's eyes bugged out of his face, and he promptly began to heave at the doors. They did not budge.

"Erm, hold on a minute," he called to them, and pulled with all of his might. Nothing happened.

"I can help," Merlin offered. Prince Arthur gave him an incredulous look. "Merlin, even the girls out there are stronger than you."

Merlin blushed, but repeated his offer. Outside, the knocking was getting more and more hysterical. Prince Arthur spared enough time to give his servant one more dubious look before standing aside and mockingly gesturing to the doors. "They're all yours," he said.

Merlin stepped over and pulled on the gates with all of his almost nonexistent strength. Predictably, they did not open. His face got even redder, if possible. "Er, maybe if we both try together…"

Suddenly, they could both hear the rush of air pushed along by leathery wings. "It's here! Let us in!" Princess Morgana screamed.

Prince Arthur looked helplessly at the doors for a second, then his resolve firmed. He strode manfully to the gate, ripping off his shirt as he went, and flexing his muscles in a warrior's challenge. Grabbing one handle, he pulled harder than Merlin thought possible, bellowing a wordless cry of defiance. The sorcerer, tugging on the other door, made sure that Prince Arthur was thoroughly distracted by his rage before quietly muttering a spell. The doors sprang open immediately, sending both the prince and his servant tumbling.

Merlin looked up from where he lay sprawled on the ground to see the gaping jaws of the Great Dragon directly in front of him. He scrabbled backwards, and made it inside the gates just as the combined strengths of all four women plus Prince Arthur managed to close them.

Arthur had put his arm around Gwen's waist by the time that Merlin recovered from the shock of nearly being burned alive, and was guiding her gently to the campfire. "Are you all right?" he pressed. "The Dragon didn't hurt you, did it?"

"I'm fine," she assured him, fixing a smile on her face even as she deftly slipped out of his grasp and took shelter behind Morgana. The princess glared at her brother until he raised his hands in surrender and backed off. Merlin shot a sympathetic glance a Gwen, who smiled gratefully and sighed.

"We need to find some way to get rid of the Dragon," Nimueh pointed out as the three siblings and their servants made a temporary peace with one another and gathered to huddle around the small fire.

"We should boil a pot of water and put it at the base of a chimney, and trick the dragon into climbing down into it," suggested Arthur. Everyone else stared at him.

"I could enchant a spear to make it so sharp that it would pierce dragon scales, and we could have Arthur throw it at the dragon," said Morgana. Merlin watched Gwen frown in confusion, then shake her head minutely.

"I don't want to be anywhere near its mouth," retorted Prince Arthur. "And besides, we don't have any spears."

"You lot distract it. I'll sneak around behind it and blast it apart," proposed Nimueh. Princess Morgause looked at her disapprovingly.

A roar from outside cut them off. "Okay, no time to plan," Arthur decided. "Let's just fight it as best we can." The others nodded, and took up positions near the door.

"How can I help?" Merlin asked his master.

Arthur eyed him dubiously. "You can help by sitting in the corner out of the way."

Merlin glared at the prince but complied, stomping off to the corner of the room. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, slid down to the uncomfortable stone floor, and put his elbows on his knees sulkily.

Princess Morgause and Nimueh both began mumbling under their breaths. An icy spike took shape in front of Morgause, and the sky, visible through numerous cracks in the ceiling, darkened. Arthur pulled his sword from its scabbard, and Gwen picked up the nearest rock.

A silvery light appeared between Morgana's hands. "Princess Morgana!" Gwen exclaimed. "You have magic?"

The light flickered as Morgana was distracted, looking disbelievingly at her servant.

"Did you really only just notice?" she asked, dumfounded.

At that moment, a fiery blast disintegrated the door, and the dragon burst into the room.

Morgana sent her ball of light flying towards the dragon, just as Princess Morgause launched her spike, Nimueh directed a lightning strike at it, Prince Arthur threw his sword, and Gwen hurled her rock. Merlin watched grumpily.

All their attacks plinked harmlessly off of the dragon's scales, but did succeed in enraging it enough that it let out an enormous bellow. The roar was so intense, in fact, that it knocked everyone unconscious, with the exception of Merlin, who had had the foresight to put his hands over his ears.

Merlin got up slowly and looked around. All of his friends were lying on the ground. He was satisfied that there was no one awake to see what he was about to do.

"Hi, Kilgarrah," he said.

"Hello, Merlin," the dragon replied. It looked pleased with itself.

"You do know that you don't have to attack people just so that we can chat, don't you?"

Kilgarrah hung his head, abashed. "You never call for me anymore," he complained.

"I'm sorry," Merlin replied. "I've just been so busy dealing with Arthur constantly fighting with his sisters and thinking he's falling in love with Gwen and…"

"It's all right," the dragon cut him off. "I understand. Just… please do try to make more of an effort. I miss feeling needed."

"I will," promised Merlin. He glanced over as Prince Arthur began to stir. "Now, you'd better get out of here."

Kilgarrah nodded. "Goodbye, young warlock. We will meet again soon."

" 'bye Kilgarrah."

The dragon crouched and sprang into the air, soaring peacefully away. Merlin turned around in time to see all the others slowly regain their senses. He went over to help Prince Arthur sit up.

"Are you all right?" Merlin asked the prince.

"Fine," Arthur answered. He looked around. "Where did the dragon go?"

"Erm, it was mortally wounded," said Merlin. "I think it flew off to die."

"I killed it?" asked Arthur in surprise and disbelief.

"Don't be stupid," replied Morgana, who had overheard the conversation. "It was clearly me who killed it with magic." When Gwen opened her mouth, Morgana whispered to her, "We'll discuss this later."

"No, it was me," said Morgause and Nimueh simultaneously.

Arthur snorted. "How could it possibly have been any of you? You're all girls."

Morgause let out a frustrated growl. "Well, you're just a baby," she retorted.

The argument continued to escalate until Gwen finally shouted "ENOUGH!" Everyone turned to look at her. "Merlin was awake. He knows what happened."

All eyes turned to Merlin. "Well?" demanded Arthur. "Which one of us killed it?"

"Actually, I…" Merlin began, then thought better of it. "It was all of you. A combination of all of your attacks."

Every single person in the room scowled at him.

"You really are useless, Merlin," said Arthur.


	5. Chapter 5

By mutual consent, and in spite of Gwen's vehement protests that it was unwise to return to a place where they were likely to be killed on sight by the King since they were apparently _all_ illegally practicing magic ("Not me," Arthur pointed out. "Or Merlin." The manservant turned away and appeared to be suppressing a snort.), the three little royals headed back to Camelot the very next day. Fortunately, they somehow managed to escape immediate beheading, and were presented to the King, each of them trying to act humble and cowed.

"Well?" King Uther asked, rising from his throne and sweeping down the line to examine his children closely. "Have you learned your lessons?"

"Yes, father," they all mumbled.

"What have you learned?" he inquired.

They looked vaguely at one another, clearly having not thought this through, until Nimueh viciously nudged her mistress in the arm. "That we all have to get along and work together to solve our problems," Princess Morgause answered sullenly, glaring at her maid and massaging her elbow.

"And?"

"That we should be proud of our skills and use them to our advantage," said Princess Morgana defiantly. Gwen bit her lip, but King Uther did not seem bothered by his daughter's tone.

"And?" he prompted again, turning to Arthur.

Prince Arthur looked blank. "No, I think that's it," he said.

Merlin whispered something in his ear, which sparked a heated but quiet argument between the prince and his servant. The row was in danger of rapidly escalating to a full-on shouting match when Uther cleared his throat meaningfully. Both men fell silent, blushing.

Arthur still said nothing, rolling his eyes at his servant, until Merlin bobbed his head and motioned for Arthur to hurry up and speak. With a face as though he had just swallowed one of Gaius' more innovative concoctions, the prince complied. "I learned that everyone has their own talents, so they should be treated with respect," he growled. Merlin couldn't help smiling like a fool at Uther's curt nod of approval. His grin did not completely fade even when Arthur continued, "Except for my servant, who is a complete idiot."

"Very good, then," said King Uther, content. "You may all resume your normal duties. And I expect that you will be more civil with one another in the future."

"Thank you, father," they murmured, and filed out. Once outside of the throne room, Arthur immediately tried to grab Gwen, but Morgana pulled her aside before he could. "Gwen," she said. "We need to talk."

"Yes, milady," Gwen agreed, breathing a sigh of relief when Arthur allowed Merlin to drag him back to the prince's chambers. Nimueh strode boldly to Morgause's rooms, the princess trailing behind, still rubbing her arm and brooding.

"I haven't forgotten about that sword!" Morgana called after her sister. An avalanche that appeared from nowhere and flattened a nearby statue was Morgause's only response.

Princess Morgana returned her attention to her maid, who was discreetly attempting to hide in a shadowy corner. "It's okay, Gwen," she reassured. "I can handle both of them. And once I've learned all that I can from the Druids, I will possess a power that neither one could ever hope to match."

Gwen didn't know what to say. "Would you like to change your clothes, milady?" she offered. The princess looked down at her dress, covered with leaves and spillage from the Druids' cauldrons.

"Yes. Yes, I would."

END


End file.
